Envelop.



No 736,014. PATENTED AUG. 11, 17908.

L. W. PRITZKOW,

I ENVELOP. APPLIGATIO N FILED FEB. 25. 1903. N0 MODEL- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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PATENTED AUG. 11, 1903..

L. W. PRITZKOW.

ENVELOP.

APPLICATION nun FEB. 26, 1903.

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UNITED STATES 1 Patented August 11, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

ENVELOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 736,014, dated August 11, 1903.

Application filed February 25, 1903. Serial No. 145,053. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Louis W. PRITZKOW, a citizen of the United States, residing at 8 West Twenty-ninth street, New York city, State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvementin En velops,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to envelops, and has for its object to provide an improved device of this character which is especially designed for containing legal and other papers and is constructed and arranged so as to be conveniently folded about the papers and then sealed without the employment of adhesive material or separate fastening devices. It is furthermore designed to have the envelop formed from a single blank, which is normally spread out flat in order that it may be folded about papers when needed, and it is also designed to have the sealing flap or tongue arranged so as to be conveniently sealed as the final step in folding the envelop about the papers,

and when so sealed it is impossible to open the envelop without damaging or destroying the sealing-tongue, and hence indicating that the envelop has been opened.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings,and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the blank of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the initial step in the folding of the envelop-blank. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the completed envelop prior to sealing the same. Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional View taken transversely through the sealed envelop.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in each and every figure of the drawings.

Referring at first more particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawings, it will be seen that the main body portion of the blank is substantially rectangular in shape and is divided by a longitudinal fold into a front section 1 and a back section'2. At opposite ends of the section 1 are terminal flaps 3, which taper outwardly, while the section 2 is provided with opposite terminal substantially square flaps 4, each of the latter being provided with a straight notch 5, formed in the outer edge portion thereof and having a slot or incision 6 intersecting its inner edge and inclined outwardly and terminated short of the adjacent notch. A tongue '7 extends outwardly from the mid dle of the outer edge of the section 2, and the latter is provided with arectangular opening 8 in alinelnent with and -for the reception of the tongue. The outer longitudinal edge of the section 1 is provided with a narrow flap 9, which extends for the entire length of the section and also projects beyond the same at opposite ends thereof, as at 10, and joins the adjacent end flaps 3, so as to close the corners between these members when the blank has been folded into a complete onvelop, as will beunderstood by reference to Fig. 3. At the outer edge of the flap 9 is an intermediate integral sealing-tongue 11, which'is provided with a central lateral enlargement 12, the opposite longitudinal edges of which are provided with V-shaped notches for the entire lengths thereof with small terminal notches 13 at the opposite ends of the enlarged portion, whereby when the tongue has been folded over toward the main blank it has the form of an arrow-head, as shown in Fig. 3. Itis preferred to reinforce the intermediate portion of the tongue by pasting or otherwise affixing to the inner side thereof an additional piece of paper.

To forrnv the blank into an envelop, the

tongue 7 is first folded over upon the outerside of the section 2 and inserted through the opening 8, and then folded back against the inner side of thesection. Just before folding the tongue back against the blank the side flaps 4 are folded inwardly andthe tongue is received within the respective notches '5, which register when the said flaps have been folded inwardly. A-rubber or other elastic band 14 is then placed over the projected end portion of the tongue, and then the latter is folded back against the flaps 4.- and stitched or otherwise secured thereto, a row of stitches being indicated at 15 in Fig. 2. After the free end of the tongue has thus been secured the exposed portion of the elastic band is then drawn toward the middle of the blank, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and then passed into the incisions 6, so as to embrace the tongue portions 16, produced by said incisions. When the envelop has been thus far completed, the papers are then placed between the sections 1 and 2 and the latter folded over against one another. Then the flaps 3 are folded over across the section 1 and their reduced terminals tucked under that portion of the tongue 7 which is at the outer side of the section 2, and finally the flap 9 is folded over and the tongue, which has been previously intermediately folded and its outer end secured to the inner face of the flap 9, is inserted in the opening 8, between the tongue portions 16 and the envelopsection 2, until the arrow-head portion of the tongue 11 has been pushed through the elastic band 14, whereby the latter snaps into the notch 13 of the tongue 11, and thereby efiectually seals the flap 9, and it is impossible to open the envelop without tearing or damaging some portion thereof, and hence indicating that the envelop has been tampered with.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is- 1. An envelop, having one side member provided with a headed tongue, the other side member of the envelop being provided with an opening for the reception of the tongue, and an elastic band within the envelop and disposed to embrace the tongue back of the head thereof after it has been inserted through the opening.

2. An envelop-blank, comprising adjacent duplicate members, one of which is provided with an intermediate opening, an intermediate tongue at its outer edge adapted to be passed through the opening and folded back against the inner side of the member to form a loop, an elastic band to embrace the looped portion of the tongue, end flaps at opposite ends of the member and provided in their outer edges with corresponding notches and having corresponding incisions in their inner edges, end flaps at the opposite ends of the other member, a sealing-flap at the outer edge of said other member, and an arrow-headed tongue upon said sealing-flap.

3. An envelop-blank, comprising adjacent duplicate members, one of which is provided with an intermediate opening, an intermediate tongue at its outer edge adapted to be passed through the opening and folded back against the inner side of the member to form a loop, end flaps at opposite ends of the memher and provided in their outer edges with corresponding notches and having corresponding incisions in their inner edges, end flaps at opposite ends of the other member, a sealing-flap at the outer edge of said other member, and an arrow-headed tongue upon said sealing-flap.

4. An envelop having one side member provided with a tongue, the other side member having an opening for the reception of the tongue, and an elastic loop within the envelop and secured to said other side in the path of the tongue when being passed through the opening to receive the same.

5. An envelop having one side provided with a tongue, the other side having an opening to receive the tongue and also provided with an intermediate flap folded to form a loop Within the envelop, and an elastic loop linked with the first-mentioned loop and disposed to embrace the tongue when inserted through the opening in the envelop.

6. An envelop having a sealing-flap provided with a tongue, and the latter having its opposite edges provided with corresponding notches and folded over at the notches to form an arrow-head, and a reinforcement corresponding to the notched portion of the tongue and secured to the inner side thereof.

LOUIS W. PRITZKOW. In presence of- ISAAC DAUGHERTY, AUSTIN BROUGHMAN. 

